I'm Baaaaack!
Whoa! I have to get used to using technology again!!! Anyway, I'm back for 3 days and then I head off to the 3 week animation camp in Denver. Woot! I'll be able to animate stuff!
Err, anyway, going to Equador and the Galapagos was seriously amazing. Although going to Equador definately makes you appreciate what we have here in America.
Dude, I totally climbed up 1000 vertical feet to stand halfway up the 26,000 ft tall volcano, Cotopaxi. I reached the little yellow hut at 15,000 ft and pretty much just collapsed. OH, and I was the first one to make it up there from my little group! Except for, well, the guide. Hehe, his name is Carlos and he was so HAPPY all the time! It made us all laugh. We called him kettles for awhile because Mr. Moueller (guh, spelling...) had trouble understanding his accent! HA! Kettles... Apperently he has a daughter named Carla, and Shannon made a joke saying "It's a good thing his name is Carlos, not Kettles; otherwise we'd have to call his daughter Kettla!" We all laughed as Mr. M nodded going, "Yeah yeah, very funny guys." :)
We were in Equador during the 4th of July, which was weird. Some Equadorians definately, err, well, hate Americans. And we stood out like a sore thumb! Heh, we got ripped off by some taxi drivers (curses) and definately got lots of stares and some not-so-nice glances when touring old town Quito. The scariest (and most exciting) part, however, was when we were traviling to Otavala (It's like the biggest trading/bartering market in Equador). Apparently, their new president has failed to uphold some promises made by an older president. Yeah, so the locals decided to blockade all of the roads leading into Otavala in protest. Our bus reached this huge mob and instantly turned around as a blob of people broke off and started chasing us waving clubs (apparently with nails in them) and pitchforks. There was also a guy on a horse. He looked angry.
Also, I found out that the guys that live there are like obsessed with blonde hair. It was weird. Cristy (who is also blonde) and I were walking along the road looking in shops while we were on an island in the Galapagos. The rest of the group was farther back. This random guy (holding a beer bottle I might add) comes up to us and askes us where we were from (in spanish). Cristy managed to translate it first and replied that she was from Verginia. I added that I was from Colorado. He nods and grins while Cristy and I exchange nervous glances. He takes a swig of beer and grins somemore, then askes us something else. It took Cristy and I a few seconds to figure out that he was asking us where we were staying. (I recognized the word hotel). We quickly replied "Guantanamera," which was the name of our boat. He looked confused for a second until I pointed at the harbor. He nods to show he understood and says something else in spanish. Cristy looks at me to see if I understood what he had just said. I shook my head slightly, keeping my eyes on the guy. Cristy gets the hint and looks around nervously to make sure that he didn't have any friends. The only people around were sitting on the opposite side of the road, watching the conversation and talking to eachother with the same maddening grin on their faces. Both of us thinking 'Where the heck is the rest of our group!?!' we inched a little closer together. After another swig of beer, the guy askes us how long we were staying. I knew what he was asking right away and replied, "Salimos despues el fin del mundo." He laughed and Cristy gave me a weird look, probably woundering if I was going insane. After a small, sheepish grin at Cristy, I noticed that some people from our group were coming up the hill towards us. Apperantly, the guy noticed this too as he quickly stuck out his hand towards Cristy and said "Chow." Cristy took his hand and started to shake it but he shook his head, the same grin on his face, and pointed to his cheek. With a sinking feeling, I realized what he wanted. I told Cristy, and, with a horrified look on her face, she leaned in to kiss his cheeks. The guy definately tried to kiss her on the lips but she turned her head. I laughed at her until the guy turned to me, holding out his hand for the same thing. So, after a quick kiss on each cheek, me and Cristy hurried off to the next store, talking about what had happened the whole way there.
Dude, so much more to talk about, but my stomach rules my mind and I am off to find some AMERICAN (yay!) food. !Hasta luego!
Err, anyway, going to Equador and the Galapagos was seriously amazing. Although going to Equador definately makes you appreciate what we have here in America.
Dude, I totally climbed up 1000 vertical feet to stand halfway up the 26,000 ft tall volcano, Cotopaxi. I reached the little yellow hut at 15,000 ft and pretty much just collapsed. OH, and I was the first one to make it up there from my little group! Except for, well, the guide. Hehe, his name is Carlos and he was so HAPPY all the time! It made us all laugh. We called him kettles for awhile because Mr. Moueller (guh, spelling...) had trouble understanding his accent! HA! Kettles... Apperently he has a daughter named Carla, and Shannon made a joke saying "It's a good thing his name is Carlos, not Kettles; otherwise we'd have to call his daughter Kettla!" We all laughed as Mr. M nodded going, "Yeah yeah, very funny guys." :)
We were in Equador during the 4th of July, which was weird. Some Equadorians definately, err, well, hate Americans. And we stood out like a sore thumb! Heh, we got ripped off by some taxi drivers (curses) and definately got lots of stares and some not-so-nice glances when touring old town Quito. The scariest (and most exciting) part, however, was when we were traviling to Otavala (It's like the biggest trading/bartering market in Equador). Apparently, their new president has failed to uphold some promises made by an older president. Yeah, so the locals decided to blockade all of the roads leading into Otavala in protest. Our bus reached this huge mob and instantly turned around as a blob of people broke off and started chasing us waving clubs (apparently with nails in them) and pitchforks. There was also a guy on a horse. He looked angry.
Also, I found out that the guys that live there are like obsessed with blonde hair. It was weird. Cristy (who is also blonde) and I were walking along the road looking in shops while we were on an island in the Galapagos. The rest of the group was farther back. This random guy (holding a beer bottle I might add) comes up to us and askes us where we were from (in spanish). Cristy managed to translate it first and replied that she was from Verginia. I added that I was from Colorado. He nods and grins while Cristy and I exchange nervous glances. He takes a swig of beer and grins somemore, then askes us something else. It took Cristy and I a few seconds to figure out that he was asking us where we were staying. (I recognized the word hotel). We quickly replied "Guantanamera," which was the name of our boat. He looked confused for a second until I pointed at the harbor. He nods to show he understood and says something else in spanish. Cristy looks at me to see if I understood what he had just said. I shook my head slightly, keeping my eyes on the guy. Cristy gets the hint and looks around nervously to make sure that he didn't have any friends. The only people around were sitting on the opposite side of the road, watching the conversation and talking to eachother with the same maddening grin on their faces. Both of us thinking 'Where the heck is the rest of our group!?!' we inched a little closer together. After another swig of beer, the guy askes us how long we were staying. I knew what he was asking right away and replied, "Salimos despues el fin del mundo." He laughed and Cristy gave me a weird look, probably woundering if I was going insane. After a small, sheepish grin at Cristy, I noticed that some people from our group were coming up the hill towards us. Apperantly, the guy noticed this too as he quickly stuck out his hand towards Cristy and said "Chow." Cristy took his hand and started to shake it but he shook his head, the same grin on his face, and pointed to his cheek. With a sinking feeling, I realized what he wanted. I told Cristy, and, with a horrified look on her face, she leaned in to kiss his cheeks. The guy definately tried to kiss her on the lips but she turned her head. I laughed at her until the guy turned to me, holding out his hand for the same thing. So, after a quick kiss on each cheek, me and Cristy hurried off to the next store, talking about what had happened the whole way there.
Dude, so much more to talk about, but my stomach rules my mind and I am off to find some AMERICAN (yay!) food. !Hasta luego!